Geo-environmental Hazards Research Articles

Experimental and finite element assessment of stabilizing configurations for underground heritage sites

Heritage sites in Alexandria, Egypt, are some of the UNESCO world heritage sites at high risk from geo-environmental hazards, in particular caused by sea level rise and heavy rain due to the climate change. Recently, safeguarding UNESCO world subterranean and built heritage draws more attention. After recent environmental catastrophies in Alexandria, sustainable conservation materials and stabilizing configurations of underground monumental structures has also become urgent and highly demanded. Based on typical damage due to the heavy weathering caused by the ground water table and salt, this paper offers a guide for engineers and conservators, where rock structures consolidation and stabilizing configurations to protect these structures in the static state and against strong seismic events is presented. In this paper, typical geotechnical problems and damage to the Catacombs of of Kom El-Shoqafa are presented first, followed by an experimental evaluation methodology that includes spectroscopic and morphological characterization in addition to the mechanical testing of untreated and treated rock samples with synthetic organosilicone and acrylic compounds. The effectiveness of the new silica-based consolidants was evaluated in terms of the amount of solid adsorbed, mechanical properties (e.g., surface hardness, ultrasonic velocity, modulus of elasticity and modulus of compressive strength), and resistance to salt crystallization. The treated groups showed better mechanical strength than the control group. The ability of the treated samples to resist climate change negative impact was also greatly improved. According to laboratory tests, new silica-based hardeners and hydrophobic materials have great potential for strengthening weathered Calcarenitic rock structures. It was observed that the rock samples containing the modified binder (MTMOS + Wacher BS 15) reach higher mechanical strength parameters. After the experimental study (testing procedures), FEM analysis was performed using PLAXIS 2D code to validate the silica-based consolidants and verify their efficiency in improving the response of rock structures in static and seismic states against strong earthquake events. The results of this work confirm the high potential of low-cost injection techniques and stabilizing configurations (pre- stressed anchors and concrete friction piles) technology, confirming the possibility of achieving significant improvement in the geotechnical properties of Calcarenitic rock structures and enhancing the seismic performance of underground archaeological structures using low-cost injection technology that is easy to manufacture.

Projection of land susceptibility to subsidence hazard in China using an interpretable CNN deep learning model

Land subsidence is a worldwide geo-environmental hazard. Clarifying the influencing factors of land subsidence hazards susceptibility (LSHS) and their spatial distribution are critical to the prevention and control of subsidence disasters. In this study, we selected natural and anthropogenic features or variables on LSHS and used the interpretable convolutional neural network (CNN) method to successfully construct a LSHS model in China. The model performed well, with AUC and F1-score testing set accuracies reaching 0.9939 and 0.9566, respectively. The interpretable method of SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) was use to elucidate the individual contribution of input features to the predictions of CNN model. The importance ranking of model variables showed that population, gross domestic product (GDP) and groundwater storage (GWS) change are the three major factors that affect China's land subsidence. During year 2004–2016, an area of 237.6 thousand km2 was classified as high and very high LSHS, mainly concentrated in the North China Plain, central Shanxi, southern Shaanxi, Shanghai and the junction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. There will be 333.82–343.12 thousand km2 of areas located in the high and very high LSHS in the mid-21st century (2030–2059) and 361.9–385.92 thousand km2 of areas in the late-21st century (2070–2099). Future population exposure to high and very high LSHS will be 252.12–270.19 million people (mid-21st century) and 196.14–274.50 million people (late-21st century), respectively, compared with the historical exposure of 210.99 million people. The proportion of future railway and road exposure will reach 14.63 %–14.89 % and 11.51 %–11.82 % in the mid-21st century, and 15.46 %–17.12 % and 12.35 %–13.11 % in the late-21st century, respectively. Our findings provide an important information for creating regional adaptation policies and strategies to mitigate damage induced by subsidence.

Utilizing shallow seismic reflection for mitigating seismic and geo-environmental hazards in the development project of Gabal Ataqa Area, Cairo–Suez District, Egypt

Nowadays, development projects are becoming so rapid in many developing countries worldwide. The study of interest focuses on Cairo–Suez District, which represents the most important location in Egypt for major infrastructure projects and urbanization expansion. Consequently, it is very important to reduce the hazards surrounding this area from natural disasters, so all information that supports geo-environmental hazards assessment is importantly needed. The Gabal Ataqa area has socioeconomic importance as it is considered the industrial zone in the national project for developing the northern part of the Gulf of Suez. The situation of Gabal Ataqa area for being rich with numerous geological structures, and its socioeconomic importance calls the need for the delineation of the subsurface structural features in this area using the appropriate method. The geological framework has recognized all Quaternary faults in the Gabal Ataqa area as they are exposed to the surface, at the same time, no seismic reflection data has been acquired in the Gabal Ataqa area. Accordingly, the shallow seismic reflection method is applied in the Gabal Ataqa area to detect the Quaternary faults that are not exposed to the surface and also to detect any subsurface features that may cause construction problems, such as water-wet sands, sabkhas, and limestone cavities. Three lines of 2D seismic profiles are acquired in the study area. After applying seismic data processing and interpretation, two Quaternary faults have been recognized in the first and third lines. The location of the first seismic line has been chosen to be between two historic earthquake events, increasing the probability that the sources causing these two events will be located on the newly recognized quaternary fault. A dim spot has been recognized in the second seismic line at a depth of 50 m, which may indicate the presence of a groundwater aquifer or wet sandstone layer. Based on these results, changing the industrial zone place to another side to be away from the area of the three seismic lines is highly recommended.

Revisiting Climate-Related Agricultural Losses across South America and Their Future Perspectives

Climate plays a major role in the spatiotemporal distribution of most agricultural systems, and the economic losses related to climate and weather extremes have escalated significantly in the last decades. South America is one of the most productive agricultural areas of the globe. In recent years, remote sensing data and geographic information systems have been used to improve geo-environmental hazard assessment. However, food security is still highly dependent on small farmer practices that are frequently the most vulnerable to climate extremes. This work reviews climate and weather extremes’ impacts on crop production for South American countries, focusing on the projected ones considering different climate scenarios and countries. A positive trend in the productivity of maize, mainly related to agricultural improvements, was recently observed in Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay by up to 200%, as well as in the case of soybean in Bolivia and Uruguay by about 125%. Despite the generalized adverse impacts of climate extremes, results from agrometeorological models generally indicate an increase in crop production in southern regions of Chile (and highlands) and Brazil mainly related to increased temperature. Positive impacts in response to CO2 fertilization are also foreseen in Peru and Brazil (southeast, south, and Minas Gerais); in particular, in Brazil, increases in productivity can be raised by about 40%. The use of double-cropping systems, although with very good results in recent years, may also be at risk in a few decades, mainly due to forecasted precipitation decrease, delay in rainy season onset, and temperature increase. The development of timely early warning systems is imperative to produce technically accurate alerts and the interpretation of the risk assessment based on the link between producers and consumers. Promoting climate index insurance is crucial to build resilient food production, but its implementation should rely on regional or international support systems. Moreover, the implementation of adaptation and mitigation also requires climate-resilient technologies that involve an interdisciplinary approach.

Geo-hazards assessment of the new-found industrial communities: an example from the 10th of Ramadan Industrial Region, Egypt

The impacts of Geo-hazard events are main obstacles to the use of land in numerous arid and semi-arid provinces of the World. Furthermore, the various activities of industrial communities, such as Egypt's 10th Ramadan Industrial Region (10th RIR), are the most dangerous examples of waste's impact on soil, surface water, and groundwater. The current study uses image processing and GIS tools to identify, delineate, monitor, and assess some of the environmental hazards caused by both human and natural activities in the 10th RIR. The findings revealed that there are rapid changes in land cover, which could be attributed to both anthropogenic and natural activities. Furthermore, the results revealed that waterlogging, salt-affected soils, water pollution, and flash floods were the most serious environmental threats to the 10th RIR. The obtained geo-hazard map showed that the 10th RIR has high flash flood hazards zones that are geospatially distributed in the southern parts of the Wadi Gafra basin and the western parts of 10th of Ramadan City. Furthermore, salinized soil zones are viewed as geospatially restricted zone in the eastern portion of 10th of Ramadan City and/or near the oxidation ponds. Additionally, vast areas of highly contaminated groundwater exist beneath industrial, urban, and oxidation pond zones. The current work provides decision-makers with numerous mitigation measures and recommendations required to minimize the impacts of geo-environmental hazards endangering the 10th RIR.

Geoenvironmental hazards assessment in the Northwest Suez Canal region, Egypt

Geoenvironmental hazards assessment in the Northwest Suez Canal region, Egypt

Molecular simulation for the relationship between the functional groups of chemical admixtures and cement hydration product Ca (OH)2 in the grouting process

Complex geological problems caused by natural environment have emerged constantly, causing serious damage to the land use and groundwater ecological environment in the western region. How to deal with the relationship between the above factors and ecological environment protection is a new research topic at present. Broken rock mass, cracks and water inrush during construction can be blocked and reinforced by grouting to achieve environmental protection. Therefore, to develop accurate quantitative models for the hydration of cement and predict the properties of grouting materials plays a crucial role during the protection process. In this study, the hydration product Ca(OH)2 is taken as an example, and the adsorption processes of different functional groups on the surface of Ca(OH)2 were investigated using DFT. The adsorption energy of the (101) surface was −0.38 Ha in sulfonic group, the lowest on different crystal planes of Ca(OH)2, while the adsorption energy of different functional groups is sulfonic group > carboxyl group > amide group > benzene ring. The adsorption energy was the lowest when the hydroxyl and carboxyl ratio was 1:1, suggesting that the adsorption energy and hydration performance in different ratios of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups will also be discrepant. After the adsorption of functional groups with Ca(OH)2, the electron clouds and orbitals rearranged, new characteristic peaks of the s orbital were present in the vicinity of −15 eV, −13 eV, and −10 eV, respectively. Since the relationship between functional groups and cement hydration process of chemical admixtures was explored, the mechanism of the cement hydration reaction and the influence of cement-based admixtures was revealed from an electronic view, also to extract the key influencing factors for the grouting and develop accurate quantitative models to predict and tackle various geo-environmental hazards.

Understanding the Mechanisms of Earth Fissuring for Hazard Mitigation in Najran, Saudi Arabia

Being a fast-growing city with a high rate of urbanization and agricultural development, the city of Najran, situated in the southwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has witnessed a series of earth fissuring events and some other geo-environmental hazards in recent times. These fissures have posed a significant threat to inhabitants and infrastructure in the area. A few studies suggest that excessive groundwater withdrawal is responsible for fissuring activities. Because of the intensity of this geo-hazard, this article presupposes that groundwater extraction alone cannot be responsible for the magnitude of fissuring activity in the area and discusses other severe factors that could be responsible for the earth fissures. The study proposes that the cause of the problem is multifaceted and synergistic, and outlines threatening factors that can inherently trigger more fissures in the region, based on the geologic history of the area and a critical review of investigative studies conducted in the area and beyond. Predicated on the region’s structural history, some undiscovered elements that can potentially cause fissuring in the region were identified and discussed. Some of these include the pre-existence of a fault system, a crack from the bedrock ridge, the existence of paleochannels, the collapsibility of loess, the tectonic (earthquake) history of the area, and differential compaction due to heterogeneity. The use of a metaheuristic and a combined application integrating other optimization algorithms can be utilized to determine optimum hyperparameters and present their statistical importance, thereby improving accuracy and dependability in fissure prediction in Najran. Reliable models would primarily be used to monitor active fissures and identify key factors utilizing spatial information, subsidence, groundwater-related data sets, etc.

Conceptual Framework for Urban Development Dynamics Dealing with Geo-Environmental Coastal Hazards (On the Northern Coast of the Nile Delta in Egypt)

The Geo-Environmental Coastal Hazards (GECH) causing serious damages in many areas around the world, are among the most important hazards due to its numerous effects. The coastal areas are important attractions for populations and activities. These areas are characterized with the phenomenon of sea-level rise that varies in its rate of change at large spatial and temporal scales, so it is difficult to be predicted locally [1]. As a result, the climate changes’ hazards affect the future of urban development processes in coastal areas. Based on the foregoing, the main question of the research is whether the potential effects of hazards have been taken into account while planning the coastal areas in Egypt and their integration into the development approaches or not. Hence, the research emphasizes the concept of dynamism and flexibility of coastal planning that may be compatible with these variables, and may be positively reflected on the urban plans of coastal cities. The research methodology tackles studying, analyzing, and evaluating coastal hazards and their implications on the Egyptian development. The analytical framework discusses the international case studies dealing with hazards from a developmental point of view, to formulate a proposed dynamic framework for developing the Egyptian coastal areas, which are exposed to coastal hazards, taking into account the temporal dimension and expected geo-environmental hazards, which vary according to the Sea Level Rise (SLR) scenarios. This framework is applied in the most dangerous low areas, such as the Egyptian Delta coast, reaching the gap of lacking dynamics and flexible procedures dealing with the changeable coastal geo-environmental hazards over different time periods.

Geoenvironmental Hazard Risks and Monitoring Technologies for Marine Carbon Sequestration

Geoenvironmental Hazard Risks and Monitoring Technologies for Marine Carbon Sequestration

Geo-Environmental Hazard Assessment of Archaeological Sites and Archaeological Domes—Fatimid Tombs—Aswan, Egypt

The Fatimid state was established in Egypt in 969 and lasted until the end of the dynasty in 1171. During the Fatimid rule in Egypt, a large set of monuments were erected. A significant portion of these monuments were shrines dedicated to the descendants of the Prophet Muhammed, especially in Aswan. Groundwater rising, at present, has introduced severe deterioration to the ancient earthen mud-brick architecture of the Fatimid tombs in Aswan city (Egypt). However, monitoring the influence of anthropogenic and environmental aspects on the deterioration issues in Fatimid tombs has not yet been considered. To this end, the scope of this pilot study is to investigate the structural stability and weathering vulnerability of the building materials of mud-brick structures in the Fatimid Cemetery before restoration labor. This was achieved using an integration of remote sensing (Landsat 8 and SRTM-DEM) and hydrogeological datasets in the Geographic Information System (GIS), along with a physicochemical and mineralogical analysis of various materials (the bearing soil, wall plasters, and Muqarnas) from the affected cemeteries. The morphological and mineralogical compositions of the collected samples were analytically examined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and CT scan. Moreover, geotechnical studies were conducted for the perched soil water and subsoil, including the analysis of the physiochemical composition and heavy metals using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results of multitemporal analysis of land use/land cover (LULC) changes displayed the growth and appearance of wetlands near the Fatimid tombs area over the last decades, boosting the geo-environmental risks from soil water rising. Furthermore, the detailed analytical investigations of building materials and soil foundations showed that this unique and substantial ancient Islamic archaeological site of Egypt shows weak geotechnical properties, and it is highly sensitive to natural and anthropogenic stressors. This innovative methodology can produce novel recommendations and results to the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt and the Heritage Commission in Saudi Arabia for the adequate restoration of monuments.

Geo-Environmental Hazards Issues, challenges, and adaptation for Livelihood Security and Disaster Risk Reduction in Rudraprayag District, Uttarakhand

Anthropogenic activities often disrupt the environment and geo-hydrology of Garhwal Himalaya and its significant impacts are visible on the hydrological behaviour of Mandakini River Basin, Rudraprayag District, Uttarakhand. Important factors causing flood and accelerating several hydrological hazards during monsoon periods in the Mandakini river are heavy rainfall, cloudburst, avalanches, slope failure, GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood), landslides, soil erosion, rampant tree felling, deforestation, drainage congestion due to unregulated urbanization etc. These changes and some Important factors causing the disaster have been attempted to be understood through primary survey, secondary data and with use of Geospatial (GIS and Remote Sensing) techniques are used to find out the situation and analysis the characteristics of geographical conditions for sustainable development. This research used a cross-sectional study design for disaster risk reduction planning wherein it attempts to assess the livelihood security, disaster-related knowledge, preparedness, adaptation, awareness, and risk perception among the stockholders. This paper also suggests a sustainable policy to accentuate and transform scientific indigenous knowledge into programmes and policies to increase better mutual understanding, collaboration and partnership for better sustainable policy outcomes in the goal of sustainable development and disaster management in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand.

Satellite based assessment of artificial reservoir induced landslides in data scarce environment: A case study of Baglihar reservoir in India

The monitoring of reservoir-induced landslides is essential for assessing and mitigating the associated geo-environmental hazards. The research utilises the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) technique for mapping and monitoring Reservoir-Induced Landslides (RIL). The rim area of the Baglihar Dam Reservoir on the Chenab river (Jammu and Kashmir, India) along National Highway NH-244 is chosen for the analysis. The slope movements are necessarily impacted by the reservoir drawdown effect (RDE) and the rainfall. 46 images from ascending and 70 images from descending track of Sentinel 1C-band SAR satellite have been used for the analysis. Further, ascending and descending results have been combined to estimate the 3D movement. Processing of both the stacks have yielded the Line of Sight (LoS) slope movement along the reservoir rim. The velocities retrieved vary from −95.1 mm/year to +85.1 mm/year. Precipitation was derived from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data, extracted from Google Earth Engine (GEE). The temporal correlation between the displacements and the local precipitation has been qualitatively analysed. The SAR interferometry results were used to identify the active zones.

Dynamic characteristics of built heritage using ambient noise recordings

The paper addresses the investigation of the dynamic characteristics of a case study, the Egyptian church of Abu serga. To this aim some in situ investigations have been conducted and related results are discussed. The paper presents interesting and innovative aspects, mainly related to the characteristics of the church investigated, covering a lack of knowledge in the scientific literature due to the typology of the church. The integrated geotechnical and geophysical investigation techniques assessed the level of seismic and other geo-environmental risks that Abu serga church suffers from. It suffers multiple Geo-environmental hazards. The main objectives of this pilot study are as follows: (1) Identifying the shear velocity Vs analysis profile of the subsoil and also the resonant frequency of soil and the historical building of Abu serga church using ambient noise recordings (microtremors) to assess the level of seismic and other geo-environmental hazards. (2) Understanding the damage to the historic building caused by the recent earthquakes. (3) Offering technical support and advice on intervention retrofitting for the historic damaged structure.In this study, ambient noise recordings have been processed through horizontal to vertical spectral ratios to examine the main frequencies and to examine whether the building has its main frequency close to that of the soil in order to identify potential resonance phenomena. Numerous ambient noise recordings were recorded on the soil, in the basement, and at each floor of the buildings.This study suggests moderate level of earthquake activity at Abu serga church and is in a good agreement with the fact that “Egypt is a part of the stable African Shield”, but the existence of old structures such as the Abu serga church may reduce the ability to resist any earthquake shaking.

Water evacuations in remote tourist regions: evaluating case studies from natural hazards in North Patagonian lakes, Argentina.

The remote North Patagonian region is a sparsely populated territory and a world famous tourist destination located on the leeward side of the Andes Mountains. Recent disasters triggered by various types of geoenvironmental hazards (including volcanic eruptions, mass-wasting processes and extreme weather events) heavily disrupted ground transport networks in a region with already limited territorial accessibilities. All these catastrophes prompted the need to evacuate or assist a number of secluded visitors, locals and livestock extemporaneously on board of coastguards and tourist passenger-ships from the shores of the many glacial lakes that make up part of the regional attraction. Despite the recurrence of these types of events, water evacuations in the region continue to be spontaneous, improvised and hazardous procedures. This contribution reconstructs and assesses a number of recent local-scale cases of lake evacuations and assistances from a number of Patagonian urban centers, rural areas and tourist sites. For each case study, we systematically elaborated on the prime components of an evacuation process, which enabled us to recognize key achievements, failures and conditioning factors for managing emergencies via water transport, most of them inherent to the studied region. Some of the complexities to emerge from case studies referred to: complex hazard-related scenarios; limited ground-based accessibilities and risk of isolation; various inter- and intra-organizational issues, incidental to natural reserves and tourist regions; a wide range of particular demographic features; and the availability and vulnerability of water transport resources. We suggested fundamental and replicable recommendations for developing water evacuation plans, also identifying forthcoming problems to solve in order to improve the management of emergencies through this alternative means of transport.Electronic supplementary materialSupplementary material (Appendix 1) is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s11629-021-7207-3

Relative seismic and tsunami risk assessment for Stromboli Island (Italy)

An innovative method of estimating the relative risk of buildings exposed to seismic and tsunami hazards in volcanic islands is applied to Stromboli (Italy), a well-known stratovolcano affected by moderate earthquakes and mass-flow-induced tsunamis. The method uses a pre-existing quali-quantitative analysis to assess the relative risk indices of buildings, which provide comparative results useful for prioritisation purposes, in combination with a historical-geographical settlement analysis consistent with the ‘territorialist’ approach to the urban and regional planning and design. The quali-quantitative analysis is based on a new proposed survey-sheet model, useful to collect building information necessary for the relative risk estimation, whereas the historical-geographical investigation is based on the multi-temporal comparison of aerial and satellite images. The proposal to combine two consolidated methods represents an innovation in estimating relative risk. Considering that Stromboli Island had never been subjected to similar analyses, the results of the relative seismic risk assessment are novel and moreover identify buildings with a fairly-low and spatially-uniform relative risk. The results of the relative tsunami risk assessment are consistent with results of similar past studies, identifying buildings with a higher relative risk index on the northern coast of the island. The combined use of a building-by-building survey with a multi-temporal analysis of settlements allows obtaining a higher detail than previously available for the region. If adequately modified, the proposed combination of methods allows assessing relative risk also considering other geo-environmental hazards and their cascading effects, in a multi-hazard risk assessment perspective.

Evaluating the spatio-temporal development of coastal aquaculture: An example from the coastal plains of West Bengal, India

The present study examines the rapid expansion of commercial coastal aquaculture and transformation of agricultural land to coastal aquaculture during 1990–2020 in six coastal community development (C.D.) blocks of Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal. The coastal aquacultural land has increased by 109.93 km2 while out of 64.41 km2 agricultural land change, 35.91 km2 has been transformed into coastal aquaculture during the same period. Moreover, the expansion of coastal aquaculture in 2030 predicted by the Markov chain model using satellite and ground data is estimated as 186.92 km2. The transition probability matrix of 2030 also reveals that ∼11.87% area of agricultural land of 2020 has a probability to be transformed to coastal aquacultural land in 2030. Therefore, the rapid agricultural land transformation to coastal aquaculture has also been discussed from the perspectives of geo-environmental hazards such as tropical cyclones and floods, coastal erosion as detected by digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) model, salinity hazards measured by normalized difference salinity index (NDSI) and potential salinity (PS) index, and socio-economic drivers such as higher income return from the coastal aquaculture, and incentives from the government. Finally, the study based on the questionnaire survey addresses the issues such as changes in income portfolio and substitution of agricultural income by the income from coastal aquaculture. Moreover, the issue of food security has also been addressed and few future challenges have been identified.

Landslide Monitoring using Inclinometer with Micro Electromechanical System (MEMS)

Being located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and a tectonically active country, Indonesia has to cope with the constant risk of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods and landslides. Landslides and other mass movements are serious geo-environmental hazards in Indonesia. Following report from the Indonesia National Disaster Management Authority (BNPB), landslides are among high disaster death toll throughout the archipelago. It claimed 248 lives last year alone. The number of landslides in Indonesia increase steadily to 376 in 2014 from 291 in 2012. Hence, landslide monitoring system is required to determine style of landslide movement, for risk and even emergency risk management assessments and to assist with the design of mitigation works. A landslide instrumentation program including an inclinometer is designed for landslide monitoring. The inclinometer, or tilt sensor, is an instrument used for measuring slope, tilt, or inclination. In this paper we use Micro Electromechanical System (MEMS) as a sensor to measure changes in an angle. Then information is transferred to a central server soon after real-time accelerations are monitored. A data logger also used as a data recording. With low-cost MEMS accelerometers, the results show this instrument is able to provide reliable ground-motion data in network-scale deployments.

Towards Sustainable, Resilient and Adaptive Urban Underground Space (UUS) Exploration, Land Subsidence and Economic Impact Spatial Model (USEM) in Shanghai, P.R. China: Systematic Reviews, Model Framework, Initial Results and Pre-Determined Challenges

As a coastal megacity, Shanghai despite having one of the world’s leading UUS exploration for utilities, transportation, metro system, commercial and residential spaces is continuously vulnerable to serious geo-environmental hazards risks and climate change impact: land subsidence, flooding, storm surge, and seawater level rise. Hence, it is imperative to study the continuous impact of rapid UUS development, land subsidence mechanisms, related geo-environmental hazards and its socio-economic impacts towards establishing a resilient, adaptive and sustainable UUS development via spatial planning and development model to lessen future adverse consequences. The aim of this paper is to present current progressive findings of the entitled research work. Methods conducted include systematic reviews of existing online journals available at open-sourced databases such as Google Scholar and Research Gate, determined USEM’s concrete steps consists of cause-effect, spatiotemporal, scenarios modelling and comparative analysis. The data gathered are mostly secondary. The four major findings are: (1) systematic reviews summarised outcomes; (2) determined USEM model framework; (3) Initial results produced from the USEM’s first step of cause-effect analysis in Shanghai and (4) Pre-determined challenges for the model. The model’s methods are expected to be used to study Shanghai condition in comparison with developing coastal megacity like Jakarta, Indonesia. It can also be referred by related interested experts especially towards assisting deeper understanding on geo-dynamics of land subsidence, UUS and economic impact via spatial modelling and formulating policies of adaptation and resilience in developed and developing coastal megacities in the world.

Geoinformation Technologies in Support of Environmental Hazards Monitoring under Climate Change: An Extensive Review

Human activities and climate change constitute the contemporary catalyst for natural processes and their impacts, i.e., geo-environmental hazards. Globally, natural catastrophic phenomena and hazards, such as drought, soil erosion, quantitative and qualitative degradation of groundwater, frost, flooding, sea level rise, etc., are intensified by anthropogenic factors. Thus, they present rapid increase in intensity, frequency of occurrence, spatial density, and significant spread of the areas of occurrence. The impact of these phenomena is devastating to human life and to global economies, private holdings, infrastructure, etc., while in a wider context it has a very negative effect on the social, environmental, and economic status of the affected region. Geospatial technologies including Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing—Earth Observation as well as related spatial data analysis tools, models, databases, contribute nowadays significantly in predicting, preventing, researching, addressing, rehabilitating, and managing these phenomena and their effects. This review attempts to mark the most devastating geo-hazards from the view of environmental monitoring, covering the state of the art in the use of geospatial technologies in that respect. It also defines the main challenge of this new era which is nothing more than the fictitious exploitation of the information produced by the environmental monitoring so that the necessary policies are taken in the direction of a sustainable future. The review highlights the potential and increasing added value of geographic information as a means to support environmental monitoring in the face of climate change. The growth in geographic information seems to be rapidly accelerated due to the technological and scientific developments that will continue with exponential progress in the years to come. Nonetheless, as it is also highlighted in this review continuous monitoring of the environment is subject to an interdisciplinary approach and contains an amount of actions that cover both the development of natural phenomena and their catastrophic effects mostly due to climate change.